NEW defibrillators have been installed at beauty spots in Otley and Yeadon - thanks to a councillor who owes his life to one.

Councillor Ryk Downes (Lib Dem, Otley & Yeadon) suffered a heart attack while out running in Pool-in-Wharfedale in January.

He was saved by the efforts of passersby who gave him CPR and used a nearby, publicly accessible defibrillator to restart his heart and stabilise him until paramedics arrived.

Following a triple heart bypass and his recovery Cllr Downes, a keen long-distance runner, vowed to help get more of the lifesaving devices set up locally and to promote their use.

He has now made good on that pledge by raising the funds to get defibrillators installed at Wharfemeadows Park - outside the cafe - and at Yeadon Tarn.

He said: "When I ran the Leeds Half Marathon earlier in the year I did so with a defibrillator on my back to raise money to buy these.

"My life was saved by one, and by people doing CPR, after I collapsed and stopped breathing in January.

"I wanted to provide one at Wharfemeadows Park, where there are more than a million visitors a year, and at Yeadon Tarn which also attracts an awful lot of people.

"Various people have contributed to help us get these and we've made sure to put them in at popular leisure locations where they could well be needed given the volume of visitors.

"Otley town centre, for example, is now well covered but there is also a need for defibrillators further out.

"I'd actually just run through Wharfemeadows prior to having the heat attack, so I think it's a really appropriate place to have one."

The new Automated External Defibrillator (AED) units are available to anyone at any time once they have called 999 to report the emergency and be given an access code.

As their name suggests, the machines - each one, with fitting expenses, costs about £1,600 - are designed to be simple to use and give out audio instructions to help.

Cllr Downes said: "They're available 24/7 and literally anyone can use them, which it's important to publicise.

"The defibrillator tells you what to do and will only actually work and give a shock if the person in trouble needs it - which the machine decides.

"You don't need any formal training to use one."

A third defibrillator, meanwhile - this time thanks to a collaborative effort involving Cllr Downes and local groups including the Parish Council, Village Hall and Sports and Social Club - is due to be installed at Pool.

It will be set up early in the New Year at the Sports and Social Club.